Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 14, 1999

1999-05-14 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Calling it "a scam that has gone on far too long," San Francisco mayoral hopeful Clint Reilly called yesterday for a freeze on live-work loft development in the city.

At a press conference in front of City Hall, Reilly also blasted Mayor Willie Brown for supporting efforts that could put thousands of condominium-style units in the city's industrial neighborhoods.

"Willie Brown has sold out . . . San Francisco's quality of life for the campaign contributions and influence of the live-work developers," he said.

So far in the campaign, Brown's general strategy has been to ignore Reilly's attacks, and yesterday was no exception.

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"The mayor answers to his constituents and not to Clint Reilly," said Ron Vinson, a spokesman for Brown.

The 1988 live-work ordinance was designed to allow artists to live in their studios in industrial areas where housing was otherwise barred. It also allowed conversion of aging warehouses into lofts where artists could both live and work.

But the multimedia boom in the South of Market area, combined with the city's ever-tightening housing market, has made such lofts increasingly attractive to buyers who can afford to pay far more than struggling painters, sculptors and photographers.

Critics say that has led to a boom in ugly loft buildings that are driving industry from the area.

From 1990 to 1998, 1,426 of the live-work units were built in the city. The Planning Department has approved 962 more and has 1,534 in the pipeline. The South of Market Foundation estimates that only about 15 percent of those units are being used by artists, Reilly said.

"I've been in many of the lofts, and the people who live there aren't working there," he said. "We can't have a planning process based on dishonesty."

Reilly also charged that the City Planning Commission's decision last month to limit future loft construction was nothing more than an election-year ploy because the new rules will not be final until after the mayor's election in November.

"Willie Brown has concocted a phony reform that will grandfather in thousands of units," he said. "The reality is that Brown will manipulate the planning process in his usual fashion to benefit his cronies and

contributors."

Although Brown appoints the members of the Planning Commission, they make their decisions based on the issues before them, Vinson said.

"The Planning Commission passed a compromise that addresses both sides of the issue," he said. "The vote was unanimous and we stand by the commission's vote."

Reilly called for the repeal of the original 1988 live-work ordinance, which he said has too many loopholes to be effective. He also wants to see an end to the 1,534 proposed units still awaiting Planning Commission approval.

But the former political consultant, who has made millions in San Francisco's commercial real estate market, declined to say how the city could deal with its original problem of providing places where people could both live and work.

"Frankly, I'm not going to write a law here on the sidewalk," he said. "But it shouldn't be hard to carve out an enforceable law and then enforce that law."

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